The cause of the stoppage decides the restart.

The governing rule and version used here

This page applies the International Rugby League Laws of the Game 2026 for the 13-a-side running game, principally Section 8, “The Kick Off and Drop-out.” Section 9 controls when the ball is in touch or dead in-goal, and Section 16 supplies the general advantage rule.

The IRL law book already contains the contested-restart provisions introduced in February 2025. IRL's separate 2026 amendments took effect on 1 January 2026 but did not announce another Section 8 change. National bodies and appointed competitions may add playing conditions, so this page does not treat NRL, junior, wheelchair or tournament rules as identical to the international baseline.

Four restarts, four different jobs

• Kick-off: place kick from the centre of halfway to start each half and after points.
• Goal-line drop-out: defending team drop-kicks from the centre of its goal line after specified defending-team in-goal outcomes.
• 20-metre drop-out: defending team drop-kicks from the centre of its 20-metre line when a penalty kick goes dead in the opponents' in-goal.
• 20-metre optional kick: defending team restarts from the centre of its 20-metre line after specified attacking-team in-goal outcomes or an in-goal catch on the full.

Halfway starts the half and follows points

IRL Section 8.1 makes the kick-off a place kick from the centre of the halfway line. The toss allocates the opening kick and choice of ends under Sections 5 and 8; the opponents of the first-half kicking team kick off in the second half. After any points, the team against which the points were scored kicks off.

The kicker must not advance beyond halfway before kicking. Teammates must not run in front of the kicker, while opponents must stay at least 10 metres from halfway until the kick. The ball must travel at least 10 metres forward into the field of play before any player wilfully touches it.

Attacking last touch usually sends play to 20 metres

Section 8.2 awards an optional kick from the centre of the defending team's 20-metre line in three main situations:

• An attacking player last touches the ball before it crosses the dead-ball line or enters touch in-goal, subject to the penalty-kick, halfway-kick-off and goal-line-drop-out exceptions in Section 8.
• An attacker infringes accidentally in the in-goal. A deliberate attacking breach instead brings a penalty 10 metres into the field of play, in line with the offence.
• A defender standing in that defender's own in-goal takes an opponent's general-play kick on the full.

The player may kick in any manner and direction, and the ball is in play immediately. Opponents retire 10 metres from the 20-metre line and cannot advance until the kick; the kicker's teammates cannot advance in front of the ball before it is kicked. The first tackle after this optional kick is a zero tackle.

A dead penalty kick uses a drop kick instead

Section 8.3 is narrow. If a penalty kick—not necessarily an attempt at goal—goes dead in the opponents' in-goal, the defending team restarts with a drop kick from the centre of its 20-metre line.

This is not the optional kick from Section 8.2. It has the ordinary drop-out requirements, including the prescribed drop-kick method and 10 metres of forward travel. The zero-tackle statement in Section 8.2 belongs to the optional kick; the law does not attach it to the Section 8.3 drop-out.

Defending-team responsibility usually sends play to the goal line

Under Section 8.4, the defending team drop-kicks from the centre of its goal line when a defender:

• last touches the ball before it crosses the dead-ball line or enters touch in-goal;
• accidentally infringes, touches down, or is tackled in possession in the in-goal;
• kicks into touch on the full from the defender's own in-goal;
• kicks or passes in-goal, the ball accidentally strikes an opponent, and then goes dead or into touch in-goal; or
• makes a kick dead while straddling the dead-ball or touch-in-goal line.

A deliberate defending breach in-goal instead produces a penalty 10 metres into the field of play, opposite the offence. Section 8 also orders a goal-line drop-out when a halfway kick-off or goal-line drop-out bounces before going dead or into touch in-goal, and when contact with an official or encroaching spectator in-goal irregularly affects play.

“Caught on the full” and “made dead” are different tests

A defender who catches an opponent's general-play kick on the full while in the defender's own in-goal earns the Section 8.2 optional kick. If instead the defender grounds a moving kick, is tackled there, or makes it dead by straddling the dead-ball or touch-in-goal line, Section 8.4 points to a goal-line drop-out.

Section 9 adds an important boundary condition. To make a ball dead for the kicking team, the non-kicking team must allow it to bounce on or beyond the dead-ball or touch-in-goal line. A defender who intervenes before that can become responsible for making it dead, changing the restart. Officials therefore judge not merely where the ball ended, but who last touched or made it dead and how.

Method, flight and player position are separate checks

For a kick-off or drop-out, Section 8.6 penalises the kicker for advancing beyond the restart line, using the wrong kicking method, failing to send the ball at least 10 metres forward into the field of play, or kicking on the full over touch, touch in-goal or the dead-ball line. Striking a goalpost or crossbar does not cure a breach.

Section 8.7 separately penalises another player who wilfully touches the ball before it travels 10 metres, a teammate who runs ahead of the kicker, or an opponent who comes within 10 metres of the restart line. The special contested-kick outcomes below change the restart for only certain kicking-team failures; they do not make the failed kick legal.

Where the ordinary penalty is taken

Section 8.8 puts a kick-off penalty at the centre of halfway. A penalty arising during a 20-metre optional kick is taken where the offence occurred. For an offence at a goal-line drop-out from between the posts, the mark is the centre of the line 10 metres from the goal line.

The contested-restart note describes the ordinary consequence for a failed 20-metre drop-out as a penalty from the centre of the 20-metre line. These are the fallback marks; advantage may still be applied, and the narrower play-the-ball exception below replaces the penalty when all of its conditions are satisfied.

A legal restart that finds touch can reward the kicker

Section 8.1 says that when a kick-off, goal-line drop-out, 20-metre restart or optional-kick restart finds touch other than on the full, the kicking team restarts with a play-the-ball on the 20-metre line opposite the point of entry into touch.

The kicking captain may move that play-the-ball to the 10-metre mark in from touch or to centre field. This is a special set-restart result: it should not be confused with the ordinary general-play touch law or with a restart kicked directly into touch on the full.

Some failed contests bring a play-the-ball, not the normal penalty

The notes to Section 8.6 reduce the consequence for specified restart attempts:

• Contested goal-line drop-out: if it fails to travel 10 metres or goes into touch on the full, the receiving team plays the ball 10 metres out from the goal line and 10 metres in from touch.
• Contested 20-metre drop-out: the equivalent play-the-ball is 10 metres out from the 20-metre line and 10 metres in from touch.
• 20-metre optional kick on the full into touch: Section 8 gives the same play-the-ball position instead of the usual penalty at the centre of the 20-metre line.

For the two drop-outs, the referee must believe the kick offered both teams a reasonable opportunity to gain possession—typically a high or bouncing cross-field kick toward genuine chasers. A disguised clearance is not enough. The current text labels the optional-kick result separately and does not expressly repeat that reasonable-contest test for it.

The exception is narrower than “every failed short restart”

The reduced consequence applies only to the listed failure to travel 10 metres or kick into touch on the full. A wrong type of kick, a player advancing early, or contact by either team before the ball has had the opportunity to travel 10 metres still attracts the ordinary penalty provisions.

IRL's February 2025 announcement used a broad summary that mentioned contests from the halfway line. Its detailed amendment text—and, decisively for this page, the 2026 law book—lists goal-line drop-outs, 20-metre drop-outs and the 20-metre optional-kick touch case, but no corresponding failed-kick-off provision. This page therefore does not extend the reduced sanction to a kick-off. An appointed competition interpretation should be checked if its officials direct otherwise.

Accidental contact can produce a scrum

If a restart is taken quickly before opponents have had an adequate chance to retire 10 metres, Section 8's note distinguishes conduct. Wilful interference before the ball travels 10 metres is a penalty; genuinely accidental interference produces a scrum. Once a player has had adequate opportunity to retire, the law tells the referee to treat the failure as deliberate.

Section 16 says advantage applies in every phase. The referee may let play continue only when the non-offending team has an adequate opportunity to obtain a real tactical or territorial benefit; a mere touch of the ball does not automatically erase the infringement.

A grubber rolls dead untouched

Situation: Blue kicks in general play. No defender touches the ball before it rolls over Red's dead-ball line.

IRL 2026 ruling: Red takes a 20-metre optional kick under Section 8.2(a). Blue supplied the last touch, and none of the kick-off, goal-line-drop-out or penalty-kick exceptions applies. Red may kick in any direction; the next tackle is zero.

The defender grounds the same kick

Situation: Blue's grubber remains live in Red's in-goal. A Red defender presses it down before it reaches the dead-ball line.

IRL 2026 ruling: goal-line drop-out under Section 8.4(c). The decisive fact is the defender's touchdown. This is not the on-the-full catch that would earn a 20-metre optional kick.

A penalty attempt misses and goes dead

Situation: Blue takes a penalty kick at goal. It misses and crosses Red's dead-ball line.

IRL 2026 ruling: 20-metre drop-out under Section 8.3. Because the kick was a penalty kick, Red must use a drop kick; this is not the optional restart and the law does not award a zero tackle.

A short drop-out dies before 10 metres

Situation: Red attempts a high cross-field goal-line drop-out with genuine chasers and receivers under it, but the ball lands after eight metres without anyone touching it.

IRL 2026 ruling: if the referee considers it capable of being contested, Blue receives a play-the-ball 10 metres from Red's goal line and 10 metres in from touch. If a player had deliberately touched it before it had the opportunity to travel 10 metres, the full penalty would remain.

How to identify the correct restart

1. Name the preceding kick or event. Start of half, points, general-play kick, penalty kick or an existing set restart.
2. Identify responsibility. Who last touched, grounded, caught, carried or made the ball dead?
3. Select the restart and mark. Halfway place kick, goal-line drop kick, 20-metre drop kick or 20-metre optional kick.
4. Check the method. Place kick, drop kick or any-method optional kick.
5. Check player lines and flight. Who advanced early, and—where required—did the ball travel 10 metres forward?
6. Classify any touch result. Into touch after a bounce, on the full, or dead/touch in-goal.
7. Apply the precise outcome. Play on, zero tackle, play-the-ball, scrum, penalty or advantage; use the contested exception only when its exact conditions are met.

The hooter and appointed rules can change what viewers see

If the half-time or full-time signal sounds before the play-the-ball awarded for a failed contested restart is taken, the Section 8 note extends time until the next tackle or stoppage after that play-the-ball. The signal therefore does not cancel the specifically awarded restart.

The Rugby Football League's current laws hub links the 2026 IRL book used here. A major exception is the 2026 Rugby League World Cup: IRL announced on 29 April 2026 that the men's and women's tournaments will use the 2026 NRL and NRLW Premiership Rules and Interpretations, including shot clocks for goal-line drop-outs. Viewers should use those competition rules rather than assume every procedural detail on this IRL-baseline page applies to that tournament.

Claims that lead to the wrong ruling

• “Every 20-metre restart is an optional kick.” A penalty kick made dead produces a 20-metre drop-out.
• “Every restart must travel 10 metres forward.” The optional kick may go in any direction and is immediately in play.
• “A defender touching the ball in-goal always earns a 20-metre restart.” A catch on the full and a touchdown have different outcomes.
• “A bounce into touch gives the receiving team the ball.” On the set restarts named in Section 8.1, the kicking team gets the play-the-ball.
• “Every failed short kick is only a play-the-ball.” The reduced sanction is limited, and early contact or another breach can restore the full penalty.
• “A drop-out is a punt.” IRL defines a drop kick as kicking the ball immediately after it rebounds from the ground.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• International Rugby League — International Laws of the Game 2026, Sections 2, 5, 8, 9 and 16
• International Rugby League — Section 8 contested-restart amendment, 8 February 2025
• International Rugby League — Amendments to International Laws 2026, effective 1 January 2026
• Rugby Football League — Laws of the Game hub, 2026 IRL law-book listing
• International Rugby League — Rugby League World Cup 2026 competition-specific rules, 29 April 2026

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the IRL 2026 law book and the official amendment notices above. The 2026 law-book text controls this page where the February 2025 announcement's broad summary is not repeated in the enacted Section 8 notes. Appointed competition regulations and referee interpretations may supplement this international baseline.